Bill C-2

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Returns	403. Within six months after a merger
	(a) each of the merging parties shall provide the Chief Electoral Officer with the documents referred to in subsection 424(1) for
	(i) the portion of its current fiscal period that ends on the day before the day on which the merger takes effect, and
	(ii) any earlier fiscal period for which those documents have not been provided; and
	(b) the merged party shall provide the Chief Electoral Officer with
	(i) a statement of its assets and liabilities, including any surplus or deficit, at the date of the merger,
	(ii) a report as to whether, in the auditor's opinion, the statement presents fairly the information on which it was based, and
	(iii) a declaration in the prescribed form by the chief agent of the merged party concerning the statement.
	DIVISION 2
	General Financial Provisions
	Contributions
Ineligible contributors	404. (1) The following are not eligible to make a contribution to a registered party, to one of its trust funds, to an electoral district association or to a candidate:
	(a) a person who is not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration Act;
	(b) a corporation or an association that does not carry on business in Canada;
	(c) a trade union that does not hold bargaining rights for employees in Canada;
	(d) a foreign political party; and
	(e) a foreign government or an agent of one.
Return of contribution or payment to Receiver General	(2) Where a contribution is received from an ineligible contributor, the chief agent of the registered party or official agent of the candidate, as the case may be, shall, within 30 days after becoming aware of the ineligibility , return the contribution unused to the contributor or, if that is not possible , pay the amount of it or, in the case of a non-monetary contribution, an amount of money equal to its value, to the Chief Electoral Officer who shall forward that amount to the Receiver General.
Prohibition - making contributions	405. (1) No person or entity shall make a contribution to a registered party that comes from money, property or the services of another person or entity.
Exception	(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the registered party's electoral district associations, to trust funds established for the election of a candidate endorsed by the registered party or to candidates endorsed by the registered party who transfer contributions to the registered party.
Prohibition - accepting contributions	(3) No person, other than a chief agent or registered agent of a registered party, shall accept contributions to the registered party.
	Expenses
Candidate's expenses for electoral campaign	406. An electoral campaign expense of a candidate is an expense reasonably incurred as an incidence of the election, including
	(a) an election expense;
	(b) a personal expense; and
	(c) any fees of the candidate's auditor, and any costs incurred for a recount of votes cast in the candidate's electoral district, that have not been reimbursed by the Receiver General.
Election expenses	407. (1) An election expense includes any cost incurred, or non-monetary contribution received, by a registered party or a candidate, to the extent that the property or service for which the cost was incurred, or the non-monetary contribution received, is used to directly promote or oppose a registered party, its leader or a candidate during an election period.
Exclusions - certain fund-raising and nominations	(2) Expenses for a fund-raising activity and expenses to directly promote the nomination of a person as a candidate or as leader of a registered party, other than expenses referred to in paragraph (3)(a) that are related to such fund-raising and promotional activities, are not election expenses under subsection (1).
Inclusions	(3) An election expense referred to in subsection (1) includes a cost incurred for, or a non-monetary contribution in relation to,
	(a) the production of advertising or promotional material and its distribution, broadcast or publication in any media or by any other means;
	(b) the payment of remuneration and expenses to or on behalf of a person for their services as an official agent, registered agent or in any other capacity;
	(c) securing a meeting space or the supply of light refreshments at meetings; and
	(d) any product or service provided by a government, a Crown corporation or any other public agency.
Definition of ``cost incurred''	(4) In subsection (1), ``cost incurred'' means an expense that is incurred by a registered party or a candidate, whether it is paid or unpaid.
Contributions for ticketed fund-raising functions	408. If a fund-raising activity is held for the primary purpose of soliciting a monetary contribution for a registered party or a candidate by way of selling a ticket, the amount of the monetary contribution received is the difference between the price of the ticket and the fair market value of what the ticket entitles the bearer to obtain.
Personal expenses of a candidate	409. (1) Personal expenses of a candidate are his or her electoral campaign expenses, other than election expenses, that are reasonably incurred in relation to his or her campaign and include
	(a) travel and living expenses;
	(b) childcare expenses;
	(c) expenses relating to the provision of care for a person with a physical or mental incapacity for whom the candidate normally provides such care; and
	(d) in the case of a candidate who has a disability, additional personal expenses that are related to the disability.
Categories and maximums	(2) The Chief Electoral Officer may establish categories of personal expenses and fix maximum amounts that may be incurred for expenses in each category.
Evidence of payment - under $50	410. (1) Where an expense of $50 or more was incurred under this Act on behalf of a registered party and paid by the chief agent, registered agent or person authorized under subsection 411(1) or on behalf of a candidate and paid by the official agent of the candidate or person authorized under that subsection, the chief agent, registered agent, official agent or authorized person, as the case may be, must keep a copy of the invoice prepared by the person who provided the good or service to which the expense relates together with proof that it was paid.
Evidence of payment - under $50	(2) Where an expense of less than $50 was incurred and paid as described in subsection (1), the person who made the payment must keep a record of the nature of the expense together with proof that it was paid.
Petty expenses	411. (1) A person may pay a petty expense incurred for office supplies, postage, courier services and other incidental expenses under the written authorization of
	(a) a registered agent of a registered party, as an expense incurred by the registered party; or
	(b) the official agent of a candidate, as an expense incurred for the candidate's electoral campaign.
Authorized maximum	(2) The written authorization referred to in subsection (1) must specify a maximum amount for the total of petty expenses that the person is authorized to pay.
Statement and evidence of payment	(3) A person who is authorized to pay a petty expense shall provide the registered agent or official agent who authorized it with the documentation referred to in section 410 within three months after
	(a) in the case of a petty expense incurred on behalf of a registered party, the day on which it is incurred; or
	(b) in the case of a petty expense incurred on behalf of a candidate, polling day.
Prohibition	(4) No person who is authorized to pay petty expenses shall, in total, pay more than the maximum amount of petty expenses that the person is authorized to pay.
Publication of electoral campaign returns and election expense returns	412. (1) The Chief Electoral Officer shall, in the manner that he or she considers appropriate, publish the original election expenses returns of registered parties and electoral campaign returns of candidates and any updated versions of those returns
	(a) in the case of an original return, within one year after the issue of a writ for an election; and
	(b) in the case of an updated return, as soon as practicable after he or she receives it.
Publication of returns on financial transactions	(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall, in the manner that he or she considers appropriate, publish the return on financial transactions of a registered party and any updated version of it, as soon as practicable after he or she receives the return or updated return.
Summary of return on candidates' election expenses	(3) As soon as practicable after receiving an electoral campaign return for each candidate in an electoral district, the Chief Electoral Officer shall, in the manner that he or she considers appropriate, publish a summary report or updated version of one which shall include the maximum election expenses allowed for the electoral district and, for each candidate,
	(a) the total election expenses;
	(b) the total personal expenses;
	(c) the number of contributors and the total amount of contributions received;
	(d) the name of the official agent;
	(e) the name of the auditor; and
	(f) if it applies, an indication that the auditor's report on a return was qualified.
Publication of returns and statements of expenses of suspended parties	(4) As soon as practicable after receiving a return on financial transactions under subparagraph 392(a)(i) or a statement of expenses under paragraph 396(1)(a) from a suspended party, the Chief Electoral Officer shall publish it in the manner that he or she considers appropriate.
Delivery to returning officers	413. (1) The Chief Electoral Officer shall, as soon as practicable after receiving the documents referred to in subsection 451(1) for an electoral district, deliver a copy of them to the returning officer for the electoral district.
Public availability	(2) A returning officer who receives documents under subsection (1) shall, on request, make them available for six months during reasonable times for public inspection. Copies may be obtained for a fee of up to $0.25 per page.
Retention	(3) A returning officer who receives documents under subsection (1) shall retain them for three years after the six-month period mentioned in subsection (2) or any shorter period that the Chief Electoral Officer considers appropriate.
	Inflation Adjustment Factor
Inflation adjustment factor	414. Before April 1 in each year, the Chief Electoral Officer shall cause to be published in the Canada Gazette an inflation adjustment factor that shall be in effect for a period of one year beginning on that date. It shall be a fraction with
	(a) a numerator that is the annual average Consumer Price Index, as published by Statistics Canada under the authority of the Statistics Act, for the calendar year immediately before that date, calculated on the basis of 1992 being equal to 100; and
	(b) a denominator that is 108.6, which is the annual average Consumer Price Index, as published by Statistics Canada under the authority of the Statistics Act, for 1998, calculated on the basis of 1992 being equal to 100.
	DIVISION 3
	Financial Administration of Registered Parties
	General
Duty of chief agent	415. The chief agent of a registered party is responsible for administering its financial transactions and for reporting on them, in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
Prohibition - paying expenses	416. (1) No person or entity, other than the chief agent of a registered party or one of its registered agents or a person authorized under subsection 411(1), shall pay the registered party's expenses.
Prohibition - incurring expenses	(2) No person or entity, other than the chief agent of a registered party or one of its registered agents, shall incur the registered party's expenses.
	Processing of Expense Claims
Three months to send expense claims	417. (1) A person with a claim to be paid for an expense of a registered party shall, within three months after the expense was incurred, send the invoice or other document evidencing the claim to the registered party or one of its registered agents.
Bar to recovery	(2) A claimant is barred from recovery of a claim that is sent after the three-month period.
Deceased claimant	(3) If a claimant dies before the end of the three-month period, a new three-month period begins, for the purposes of subsection (1), on the day on which the claimant's legal representative becomes entitled to act for the claimant.
Payment within six months	418. A claim that has been sent in accordance with section 417 must be paid within six months after payment of it is due.
Irregular claims or payments - Chief Electoral Officer	419. (1) On the written application of a claimant with a claim to be paid for an expense of a registered party or registered agent, the Chief Electoral Officer may, on being satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for so doing, in writing authorize the registered agent of the registered party to pay the amount claimed if
	(a) the claim was not sent in accordance with subsection 417(1); or
	(b) the payment was not made in accordance with section 418.
Terms and conditions	(2) The Chief Electoral Officer may fix any term or condition that he or she considers appropriate on a payment authorized under subsection (1).
Irregular claims or payments - judge	420. On the application of a person who has a claim to be paid for an expense of a registered party or of a registered agent of the registered party, a judge who is competent to conduct a recount, on being satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for so doing, may by order authorize the registered agent to pay the amount claimed if
	(a) the applicant establishes that an authorization under subsection 419(1) has been refused and that the claim was sent after the three-month period mentioned in subsection 417(1) or the payment has not been made in the six-month period mentioned in section 418; or
	(b) the amount claimed has not been paid in accordance with an authorization obtained from the Chief Electoral Officer under subsection 419(1) and the applicant establishes that he or she was unable to comply with that authorization for reasons beyond his or her control.
Proceeding to recover claimed payments	421. (1) A person who has sent a claim in accordance with section 417 may commence proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover any unpaid amount

Bill C-2

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